Ranger Headquarters

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Bill and the boys return from working out on the trail to find that 70-year-old desert rat (prospector) Joshua Webb is missing. The rangers find Joshua nearly dead on the edge of the desert. They convince him to settle down in town. Joshua sneaks back into the desert to his secret prospecting grounds. Bill and the fellas risk 120-degree heat and other desert dangers in search of Joshua. Where will Bill search? Can our rangers find him in time? Can they survive the desert themselves?

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chief Ranger Bill Jefferson and all his crew - Henry, Stumpy, Gray Wolf, Tom, Jane Reeves, Rocky McGuire and the rest of the rangers - as well as all the many folks around Knotty Pine - Sheriff Cal, FrenchyDeSalle, Moose McBain, Houseboat Charlie, Maggie Murphy, Mary Lu, Mom Jefferson, and so many more want to wish all the Ranger Bill fans a -

Blessed and Joyful Thanksgiving.

And that goes double for the Ranger Bill Fan Club and me, Ranger Dave. May the Lord of the harvest fill you with his joy and happiness in Jesus' tremendous love for us that he would come to this earth to share with us in all that is life and then to give His precious life for us so that we all might have eternal life through Him. But not only did Jesus give his life for us, He also rose from death so that we can know and rejoice that He has the power over death and will bring all believers to live with Him in an everlasting feast of thanks for all He is and does. God bless you all!!!In Christ,Ranger Dave

Free Thanksgiving MealsAll the Soup Kitchens in the tri-county area will be open and serving Thanksgiving meals from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Thanksgiving Thursday November 27, 2008. Soup Kitchens will be serving turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, pumpkin pie, and more. Meals will be served on a first come first served basis, and no proof of need is required. Also several area VFW posts and many churches will also be providing Thanksgiving meals. Please check with the VFW post or church in your area to see if and when meals will be served.

Holiday Worship ServiceThe Knotty Pine Ministers Association informs the GAZETTE that all the churches in town have agreed to gather at Knotty Pine Church Thanksgiving morning at 10:00 am for a joint Thanks Worship Service. The service will feature a mass choir, congregational hymn singing, and a Thanksgiving message from KPC pastor Dr. Walter Singleton titled "God's Bounty in Jesus." Weather permitting, the congregation is invited to walk with the mass choir one block to the town square for more singing. The morning's activities will conclude with the ringing of bells all across town beginning with all church bells. Anyone with a hand bell, cow bell, or any other kind of bell is invited to join the church bells.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Whenever I travel to Knotty Pine and Big Pine National Forest, I have found several similarities between hiking the trails there and my daily walk with God. I'd like to share with you something of what I have learned.The Shady Mountains and the Rockies in general inspire wonder and awe whether seen from an airplane high in the sky or from ground level driving along on a highway. But you can't experience the power, the overwhelming size, and the beautiful details of these marvelous creations of the Master Designer until you hike a mountain trail. You will probably get hot and tired, thirsty and achy. But you will see and hear and feel things that will help you know that God is real and is the all-powerful creator.There are dangers in traveling these trails and in life's trail - of forgetting and taking for granted. When we are thrilled with creation we can forget His love for us in Jesus our Savior. We can begin to take His many blessings for granted. Then in our pains and in the rush of our daily activities we can forget God's love and power and Jesus.The disciples saw "no one but Jesus" on the mount of Jesus' transfiguration. We daily need a faith conscious of Jesus and what He has done for us on Calvary. Then we can rest and be renewed in the love of God, who promises to use His power to protect us as we travel life's trail.

Dave, I've recently heard a couple of Mark Trail radio episodes from around the same time period as the RB episodes, and the similarities between the Mark Trail and Ranger Bill programs are too obvious to be only coincidence! I was kind of shocked...

Both feature a rugged, dedicated "ranger" charged with protecting the environment...the intros are very much alike, with both featuring a list of things the hero overcomes to get the job done, and both play thunder and other similar sound tracks in the background. Both end the show by shouting out the hero's name! If you have a minute, take a listen to a Mark Trial radio program, and I think you'll see what I'm talking about. If you don't have one handy, I can email you one.

Pretty amazing "coincidence", or did the Mark Trail folks copy the formula of a winning show? Very curious set of similarities...

God bless you,

Bill Whicker

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Thanks, Bill, for letting us know about Mark Trail.

The Mark Trail radio show began in January of 1950. Ranger Bill started oct. 2, 1950. Mark Trail began in 1946 as a comic strip and then expanded to include the radio show in 1950. Mark was a pipe-smoking journalist and environmentalist in the comics and was a forest ranger on the radio. The radio show was sponsored by Kellogs Pep cereal. The Mark Trail show began each week with:"Kellogs presents the adventures of Mark Trail -battling the raging elements,fighting the savage wilderness,striking at the enemies of man and nature.One man's name resounds from snow-capped mountains down across the sun-baked plains -Mark Trail!guardian of the forest,protector of wildlife,champion of man and nature -Mark Trail!"

Does this sound familiar? Check out the first Ranger Bill opening - very similar.

Bill and Ranger Tom are checking over the forest one last time before winter closes in. They come upon an old abandoned miner's line shack that now has an old hermit living in it. The hermit sends the boys away at the point of a gun.

Ralph, visiting from Col. Anders office, tells the fellas that the hermit is a famous brain surgeon from the east who is grieving the death of his best friend Jim who died while the doctor was operating. The doctor blames himself for his friend's death.

A climber injured in a fall on Old Baldy desperatly needs brain surgery in to live. Bill confronts the hermit/doctor asking him to save the climber's life.

The description of the "Wrong Crowd" is in error. It says Bill thinks George double-crossed him. Bill stuck with him till the end believing there was an explaination to the disappearing money and convinced George was innocent. It was other people of the town that thought George did some double-crossing. Thanks for your work on the web site.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

The program labeled RB009 is actually “Bim the Dog” (program #104) instead of “Ben the Dog”. I caught this reading the script. I am now updating the spreadsheet with the original program numbers and dates when available. By the way, Ranger Bill ran with the quarter-hour format starting with program #1 which aired on Monday afternoon October 2, 1950 at 4:45pm up through program #103 that was recorded on September 22, 1952 and was aired the following Monday afternoon, September 29, 1952 at 4:45pm. Ranger Bill #104 was the first program to air in the new half-hour format with a new airing date on Saturday afternoon. The first half-hour length Ranger Bill program (#104) was recorded on Wednesday, October 1, 1952 at 6:15pm and aired three days later on Saturday, October 3 at 12:30pm. Attached is a copy for your enjoyment. Please share it with the group! Have a great day!

Right below the Bim file is another document Phil sent. This paper seems to be a proposal sheet outlining some possible Ranger Bill characters. The paper describes Bill, Henry and Col. Anders. It also mentions a little girl who was not used and also an old timer Jed who may have developed into Stumpy. The file is called WMBI RB characters.

Young George Bruce returns to Knotty Pine after spending time in refrom school. George needs to find a job to stay out of the school. Bill gets the boy a delivery job with Frenchy DeSalle and his loggers. George is sent out to pick up the loggers' payroll of $2500 and doesn't return. Bill thinks he may have been double-crossed by George.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Yes, it's November here in Knotty Pine and that means snow. Meteorologists at TV station KNOT report that most of the region in and around the Shady River have experienced from light to very heavy snow fall so far this November. Most of the region including Central City and Junction City have received at least four inches of snow in the last week. Heavier snows have fallen in the upper elevations of the Shady Mountains and other parts of the Rockies. Especially hard hit was the Big Six Mountains and Culver's Peak. The Big Six Lodges are open and report fair to good skiing with an astonishing two to four FEET of freshly fallen snow.

Chief Ranger Bill Jefferson informs the Gazette that he has daily ski patrols on duty in the Big Six region. Rangers are working hard this week knocking down snow build-ups on the mountain peaks. Ranger Bill tells the paper that avalanche prevention is his men's number one concern right now.

Ranger Bill also tells us that there is a warm-up forcast in the next week and that flooding in the valleys below the Big Six and along the Shady River are possible. Rangers and county engineers are watching water levels at bothMid-Mountain Dam and Pine Ridge Dam.

Veterans Day Memorial

Mayor Thompson will lead the Veterans Day Parade on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The Parade will begin on the north end of Main Street and proceed through the center of town ending at Knotty Pine Cemetary. Memorial Services for Knotty Pine's war dead will be held in the cemetary after the parade where a wreath will be placed in front of the Veterans Memorial.

The Knotty Pine High School band, area veterans groups, and several of Knotty Pine's ministers will participate in the parade and memorial service.

The parade begins at 11:00 am, and the public is encouraged to attend. There will be no school or mail service on Tuesday.

Farmers Give Thanks for Banner Year

Farmers throughout the tri-county area and around Big Pine Forest region report above average crop yields for 2008. Large crop yields combined with rising farm produce prices have combined for what appears to be the most profitable year for area farmers in over 50 years.

In thanks for their bounty, many the Canyon County farm bureau is planning to give of their time and produce this Thanksgiving. You will be seeing many area farmers helping at the Central City Shelter, serving Thaksgiving meals to the poor and less fortunate. Also the bureau plans a canned goods delivery to shelters and homes in the county the week before Thanksgiving.

There are roughly 200 Ranger Bill episodes that I am aware of. The show numbers, titles, and first airing dates were provided by Moody Audio. AKA titles are Ranger Bill Fan Club titling.

* Note:Opening #1 -"Ranger Bill, Warrior of the Woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, fighting the many enemies of nature. This is the job of the guardian of the forest, Ranger Bill. Pouring rain, freezing cold, blistering heat, snows, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions. Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done."

Opening #2 -"Ranger Bill, Warrior of the Woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, showing rare courage in the face of disaster, in the air, on horseback, or in a screaming squad car. Ranger Bill, his mind alert, a ready smile, unswerving, loyal to his mission. And all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done."

RB015The Hunted110/10/1956The rangers out on ski patrol hear the cry of an unknown big cat. The cat is a jaguar that threatens the cattle on nearby ranches.

RB016Hidden Treasureaka Trouble at the Flying Double Bar Ranch12/29/1956Lester Winters inherits the family ranch when his dad died. But the bank must foreclose on unpaid loans on the ranch. The fellas need to find the ranch's missing cattle to help pay bills.

RB017Overflow19/12/19562 days of hard rain and heavy spring thaws threaten to damage Big Ridge Dam. Bill is given 3 hours to warn all the farmers and ranchers in the valley below before floodgates are opened.

RB018Tony's Placeaka Standing Firm for What Is Right14/28/1954Tony's Market is damaged when Tony won't give Ed Blake's gang money immediately for baseball uniforms they want. One boy in the gang, Mike, alone is willing to stand up to the gang and its leader.

RB019Sultan, King of Beasts111/7/1956Big, powerful show lion, Sultan, defies and scares his trainer, Flick Martin.

RB020If the Lord Is for Us,Who Can Be Against Us111/10/1954Bill tells how he was persecuted by his sarge as a Navy medic serving with the Marines, and how he saved the sarge's life. Young army serviceman Ted Sloan in a similar situation.

Monday, November 3, 2008

RB00120 Fathoms Under the Sea15/26/1954Bill and the boys go deep sea fishing with old salvage man Ben Benson. An old Nay sub used for training is stuck on the bottom and Ben can but won't help because his son died on a salvage job.

RB002A Boy and A Bomb1N/ABill gets secret orders to escort Hal Dever to the Army proving grounds to test a bomb timing device. Hal is a single father who ignores his son Jim. The boy takes the timer and starts it ticking.

RB003Getting with the Wrong Crowd13/28/1956George Bruce returns to Knotty Pine after spending time in reform school. Townsfolks refuse to accept him or help him. Bill gets him a delivery job with Frenchy DeSalle's logging operation where he loses the payroll.

RB004The Hermit112/21/1955A hermit who moves into a cabin in Bill's territory turns out to be a desperately needed brain surgeon.

RB005Burning Sands15/16/1954Elderly desert prospector Joshua Webb is told by his doctor to stay in Knotty Pine for his health, but the lure of gold takes him back to the desert anayway. Bill and the boys must brave 120 degre heat to rescue Jushua.

RB007Miracles [aka Pray for a Miracle]212/20/1961Henry and Freddy go on a hike where Freddy has to wrestle with his faith and miracles. The boys need a miracle when Freddy falls into Half-Mile Gulley and breaks his leg, while flood waters from a broken dam threaten to drown the boys. Only a miracle can save them.

RB008They Called It (Him) the Jinx(?)111/5/1955Tom Farris called in to be foreman of bridge project over 1200ft deep Dead Man's Gorge. The crew is afraid of the jinx on Tom from accidents caused by pushing his men.

RB009Bim, the Dog13/9/1955A brave dog protects his family then serves his country.

RB010Hit and Run14/13/1955Two boys hide after hitting an elderly pedestrian.